Today was my fourth round of baking days (although that picture was from my first a few months ago).  It's definitely getting easier – I seem to have found a flow and a rhythm that works really well for me.  Rather than shopping this morning like I normally do on a baking day, we were able to get it all done yesterday which worked out sooo great.  I was able to get beans, rice and muffins soaking overnight and threw a chicken in the crockpot to make stock… which saved me tons of time today and made it possible to get it all done in one day. 

I'm also finding that there are a few things that I do every month and for my own sanity, I'm listing them here with recipe links.  A few recipes are ones that I've been adapting, but haven't shared yet.  I'll try to get them up as soon as I can.

• Brown rice (cooked, cooled and portioned into freezer bags – it freezes great!)
• Black beans (same as above, except I just realized I didn't portion and freeze yet)
• Tuscan Lemon Chicken (someday I'll try the Herbs de Provence one, but this one is sooo good)
• Pork Chops (basic – olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic…sometimes I add a little lemon)
• Fajita Steak (a long time favorite of ours)
• Orange Beef and Broccoli (not well planned on my part.  The goal was to get the meat cut and bagged, and then to also get the marinade made and frozen but I didn't have all of the ingredients.  Next time!)
• Chicken stock and cooked chicken
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (made with whole wheat flour and coconut oil so they're a bit more nourishing)
• Breakfast Cake (in muffin form)
• Blueberry Muffins (I'll try to get these shared soon)
• Apple Walnut Muffins (a new recipe that was awesome with my experimentation)
• Waffle Mix (all but the wet ingredients, which are written on the bags)
• Tortillas (another one I need to share)
• Sandwich Rolls (trying to get a little photo tutorial done on these one of these days!)

I put most things in freezer bags, portioned out for one dinner for our family of 4 and sometimes add in a bit extra for planned leftovers or lunches later on.  The key to success for me has been making sure I jot down every single bag in my Homemaking Binder.  It's also helpful to have a weekly meal plan, and to keep it posted somewhere I see all the time.  Knowing what we're having over the next few days makes it easier to make sure I have dinner components pulled out in advance to thaw in the fridge.

When I look at the list like that, it really doesn't seem like I did all that much.  There aren't any complete meals, but they are more than enough to give me a big head start!